The present invention relates to a fishing line carrier device for downrigger fishing, and to a downrigger fishing setup employing the fishing line carrier device.
In conventional downrigger fishing, a heavy fishing line or thin wire cable (downrigger line) has a heavy weight (cannon ball) attached to its outer end. The cannon ball is lowered from the fishing boat into the water and down to a desired trolling depth. The cannon ball tends to keep the downrigger line substantially vertically disposed, even when trolling. A fishing line from a rod and reel is releasably attached to the cannon ball. When a fish strikes, the force of the strike causes the fishing line to be released from the cannon ball, and the fish is played and reeled in. The cannon ball must then be reeled into the boat to reattach the fishing line for the next try.
An improvement in this apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,288. In the device described in this patent a fishing line carrier weight 30 is slipped onto the downrigger cable 22 with the fishing line 38 from a rod and reel being releasably clamped to the line carrier weight 30. The fishing line carrier weight is then lowered down the downrigger cable 22 until it reaches the desired trolling depth, which is a depth above the depth of the trolling weight (cannon ball) 24. When a fish strikes the lure 40, the fishing line 38 is released from line carrier weight 30 which then slides down downrigger cable 22 until it abuts trolling weight 24. When it is desired to resume fishing, another line carrier weight 30 is slipped onto downrigger cable 22 and the fishing line 38 releasably attached thereto. This allows several fishing cycles to be accomplished prior to reeling in the trolling weight 24. However, the design of carrier weight 30 allows it to easily slip off cable 22 after release from the fishing line 38.
The present invention provides an improved fishing line carrier device for downrigger fishing.